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Of all the research done on childcare and early childhood education you'd think someone would do studies on the fear that make couples looney in the head after they become parents. The biggest thing for a new parent is fear. Fear of what they would do if anything happened to their little Johnny or little Sue. This advice was given to them by their loving and caring family, friends, experts and professionals that never had a child. Truly all of that wonderful advice was meant to help the new parents, but it set off a stampede of stuff inside of them even they didn't know they had.

So for three months they are homebound with their new baby while entertaining their family and friends, hearing all of the protection laws for the infant from grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents and admirers while the parnts forgetting they have a world of other living awaiting them when they come up for air.

When they do come up for air to breath back into the rest of living they are confronted with questions that begin to shake the fabric of their existance.

They have to return to work, they must find the perfect caregiver and they must begin the "Act" of parenting.

So now where are they? They have read all the books on how to care for their baby, how to teach, exercise, feed and love their baby. What not to let others do or not do around the baby and all the wonderful advice from the family and best friends and experts.

Behind the doors of a child development center: The notebook of a child "Caregiver". The way to choose a child care center, what to look for that is never revealed and things that are hid that a center may not want you to know.

1. Always have more than one visit.

2. Ask if you may make a random visit.

3. Donot pretend to smile. If you are nervous, be nervous so it can pass easily.

4. Do not be embarassed, write all of your questions down you will remember to ask them. Once you enter a room with infants you loose your thinking power because infants take your mind off why you are there.

5. When you find a center you are comfortable with, the TRANSITION is the sealer to you and your baby beig happy there.

6. A poor transition creates stress. It will leave you uninformed, nervous, in a state of emergency at all times, fearful, worried and confused becaused you have unanswered questions.

7. A good transition relieves stress. You asked all of the questions from the books and those your family and friends told you to, now you feel better.

8. A good transition consist also of getting to know the individuals that will be personally caring for your infant. Communication is number one. The caregive should be informed of the activities of your infant for the past three months. Compare it with what will become the new schedule and work with the new caregiver to assist with the transition for your infant.

9. As you develop a relationship with the care giver you will be re- leiving yourself of the question as to the kind of care your infant will get.

10. Remember, it is ok to cry as many time as you feel like it because you are being seperated from you infant. Three thing happens when parents go back to work: a. Parents are separated from their infant, the infant is seperated from their parents and the cargiver and the infant are alone with no clue as to how things will work out.

11. Speak to other caregivers that will care for your infant. Some individuals are hired that cannot read or write, some barely can read or write. In emergencies this could be a problem. Slow reading could cause a childs death so could no reading. It may be true that good workers are hard to find and there are good workers that are illeterate so where should they be placed for working in a child development center. Love, yes and no are teaching tools yet caregivers should be able to teach through plans and also developing plans for teaching.

12. One major thing to look for when doing interviews at a center, watch out for the kind of thin skin of information you get from a director and if you don't feel the meat and potatoes you need ask more questions and watch where the answers come from.

13. Ask to see guidelines for the center that governs the directors, curriculum director, teachers, cooks, houskeeping and traffic in the building.

14. Anyone apprehensive about answering any of those questions you should take another look at that facility.

15. The infant room should be kept clean at all time because infants crawl on the floors. Check the floors and behind the beds if you are brazen enough and you will see just how dusty they are.